Just The Way I'm Not (Prince Harry Fanfiction)

Chapter Fourteen

When the morning comes, I feel like such an idiot. I never even liked Niall in that way, I just wanted to get over Harry. Now look at me, humiliated and hung over. The only thing I’ve achieved is managing to lose two men in my life. When I wake, I rub my eyes and roll out of bed, throwing my dressing gown on and stomping down the stairs. My parents sit in the kitchen, sitting on the bar stools and drinking tea. They hardly look at me when I get in, as if I’m just a household pet entering the room. “Niall said you were back” Mum states casually, flicking through the newspaper. “You seem happy to see me” I mumble. I want to scream at them, shout at them. I’d never really wanted this before, I guess because I didn’t know any different, but now I’ve been with Harry and he’s shown me that I can be loved and cared for, my parents lack of consideration angers me. We’ve never been a loving family, I mean it’s clear I was some kind of accident that got in the way of their careers, but I think this is an extreme circumstance. The best I can do is assure myself they do care, deep down, it’s just not in their nature to show it. “Holly” my Dad switches the coffee machine on and turns to me; “Your mother and I are not going to pretend we’re happy about what you’ve done…” What I’ve done?! Excuse me while I laugh hysterically. “But there’s no point us punishing you now.” Yeah, that would be too much effort for them. Dad sighs and continues “You’re going to University soon and we need to focus on that. We get it, you were completely under this man’s spell, it happens at this age. Though you completely disobeyed us and didn’t tell us where you were going, you’ve obviously learnt your lesson and we’re willing to speak no more about the matter.” God, he sounds like Mum when she’s working. I roll my eyes and nod, grabbing a mug of tea and climbing back to my room. Under Harry’s spell was I? They don’t even know what happened! The sooner I get out of here the better. I go to open my curtains, but unsurprisingly find paparazzi outside the door. This is not exactly shocking, they were probably following me all the way back from London. I close them again and turn to my room. It’s definitely time to start packing; it’s only a few weeks until I leave. I get all the boxes out of my cupboard and start throwing things in, not caring about the neatness. I empty my shelves and my desk in no time, finding that moving homes is ten times easier than I thought. It’s when I come to my suitcase that there’s an issue, full of clothes and all the stuff I got in London. I’m pretty sure I don’t have the heart to throw any of this stuff away, I can’t do it. When I unzip it, a row of pictures is what gets me. The hundreds of photo booth pictures. I remember the day we took them, it was during the second week, and the weather was the worst of the summer, raining so hard that it hurt when it hit your skin. The droplets were bouncing back up off the ground and water was streaming down the roads. Harry and I stayed in until after lunch, sitting on a window seat in his bedroom, watching London cope in the weather. After a while he suggested we go to an indoor shopping centre, as there was an Italian restaurant he loved. I was keen to see the sights and happily agreed. It must have taken us at least an hour to get there, one thing I’ve learnt is that traffic is always bad in London, but with everyone driving and using taxi’s because of the rain, it was practically gridlock. But we didn’t mind, Steve drove grumpily as usual and me and Harry sat like kids, crossed legged in the back seats, facing each other and sharing this chicken noodle salad while we talked. It was a good day, especially after we got there. We were talking and laughing loudly, running around the shopping centre. There was always a pair of eyes on us wherever we went, but on that particular day we didn’t care about anything. After a while I dragged him into this photo booth that was outside a clothes shop, assuring him it would be fun. It was a tight squeeze, I ended up having to sit on his lap. But after the curtain was shut it was great in there, we were in public but for once, no one could see us. It was a private moment we spent in there, pulling funny faces for the camera and kissing, we didn’t want to leave so the photos piled and piled up. It was such a simple day, but I remember it so well because it was an amazing day. Probably one of the best days of my life, because it wasn’t about what I was doing, it was about the company I was keeping, and Harry made me happier than ever. I scrapped up the photos and wondered if Harry was looking at his copies, maybe he’d thrown his away. I wouldn’t blame him. I decide to keep mine, wrapping them neatly in a plastic cover and placing them in one of my boxes. I’m going to remember being with him, although I’m still seriously pissed off, it was a good experience, and it’s made me keen to go to Edinburgh and live my life. Looking at the photo’s had me crying almost immediately, I am still devastated about what happened, but hey, at least I learnt from it. I carry on packing for many more hours, and when I’m just about done, I make a vow to never come back to Craster. I smile when I go downstairs to make dinner, chatting to my parents as if I love them so much. Today made my mood pick up considerably, what is it they say? Always look on the bright side of life, right? Well this is going to be Holly Longford’s new motto.

The new mood doesn’t last long. In fact it doesn’t even last until after dinner. The knocking on the front door makes everything worse again.